


Knowing You

by WrathoftheStag (Mwuahna)



Series: Their Life in France [8]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Emotional idiots, Hannibal Loves Will, I Hate Those Stupid Quizzes, Idiots in Love, M/M, Murder Husbands, Post-Episode: s03e13 The Wrath of the Lamb, Their life in France, Will love Hannibal, they are so cute together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-13
Updated: 2016-07-13
Packaged: 2018-07-23 18:45:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7475676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mwuahna/pseuds/WrathoftheStag
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Will and Hannibal wait for Encephalitis at the vet, they decide to take a "How Well Do You Know Your Partner" quiz.  How well does one really know their partner?  Some domestic fluff, chock-full o' dialog.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Knowing You

Dr. Mercier walked into the examination room, “Well hello, Encephalitis. What brings you here today, my dear?”

“She’s not eating,” Will said nervously as Hannibal gently stroked his hand. Encephalitis sat anxiously on the examination table and whimpered once.

“Martin and Sandro, good to see you both. Marie took her vitals, and she doesn’t have a fever so let’s take a look here.”

The veterinarian pressed various parts of Encephalitis’ body, then pried opened her mouth to look inside. “Aha.”

“Aha? What aha?” Will asked.

“Encephalitis is fine, but she does have one rotten tooth that must be pulled. See? Here in the back.” 

Will and Hannibal both leaned in to take a peek. “Well that explains why her breath has been so rank lately,” Will said.

“We just had a cancellation so we can do the procedure today if you like, or we can schedule it for sometime next week.”

“Well, I don’t want her to be in pain for a week. If you can do it right now, let’s just go ahead and proceed.”

“Very well,” Dr. Mercier said, “There’s paperwork that needs to be signed, and once that’s done you and your husband can come back later.”

“Oh, no. We’ll wait.” Will said as he looked at Hannibal. “Won’t we?” He asked, and Hannibal nodded. 

Dr. Mercier smiled and said, “Of course. If you’d like to go back outside to the reception area, Jean-Pierre will bring you the paperwork.” The vet left and Will gave a sigh of relief. “At least we now know why she wasn’t eating.”

“Indeed. Since we’ll be here a while, why don’t I walk to the café down the street and get us some coffee and pastries.”

Will sighed, “Mmmm, that sounds good.” Will pet Encephalitis and gave her a kiss on top of her head. 

Hannibal put his hand on Will’s shoulder, “I will see you shortly, _mylimasis_.” Will placed his hand over Hannibal’s and smiled warmly. 

**+++**

Hannibal returned about 25 minutes later with two cappuccini, a bottle of sparking water, a croissant and some biscotti. Will was a few seconds away from beginning to bite his nails, so he was glad Hannibal had returned with something else to nibble on.

Hannibal sat next to him and handed him his cappuccino. “Have they begun?”

“I believe so. Nothing left to do but wait. They’re also going to do a full dental cleaning while they are in there.”

The two sat quietly, with their thoughts. After a while, Will grabbed one of the fashion magazines from the basket on the table. He mindlessly began leafing through it when he came upon one of those “How Well Do You Know Your Partner?” quizzes and gently elbowed Hannibal. Hannibal, who was currently composing a piece in his Mind Palace for Encephalitis on the harpsichord, startled. 

“Yes?”

“Let’s take this quiz?” Will said smiling widely.

Hannibal looked at the page, raised an eyebrow and said, “Will, I don’t need some second rate questionnaire to tell me whether or not I know you. I know you. I know you very well.”

“Well then, there’s nothing to worry about. Let’s take it”

“Worry? Believe me, I am not worried in the least bit.”

“Come on, it will help me take my mind off of worst-case dog scenarios.”

Hannibal sighed, “Very well, Mongoose.”

Will smiled, “Okay, how about I ask you half and you ask me the other half?”

“All right. Shall you go first?”

Will gave Hannibal a quick nod, and began reading, “They say there is no such thing as a soul mate, but you are convinced you and are your partner are written in the stars. Take this quiz and find out! How well do you know them? How well do they know you? Below are a few questions, take turns answering and good luck!”

“Clearly, this magazine will hold the future of our relationship in its hands, Will,” Hannibal said dryly.

Will smirked, “Clearly. Okay question number one: what kind of books does your partner most like to read?”

“Partner meaning me, or partner meaning you?” Hannibal asked.

“Um...let’s go with partner meaning me, since I’m asking right now and not answering,” Will said.

“You enjoy biographies, dystopian novels, and poetry,” Hannibal said sounding confident in his answers.

“Good!” Will replied. “Next question: how many of your partner's friends can you name off the top of your head?”

Hannibal bit his lower lip, and then exhaled loudly, “Let me see...there is Winston, Buster, Encephalitis...Groucho, Harpo? Eh...Alana?”

Will laughed, “You are terrible -- and I guess I am pathetic. Sad thing is, you’re not that far off. Christ, that would be a short list. ”

“I am sorry, Mongoose. But if it is any consolation, I would be at the top of your list, and you would be at mine,” Hannibal said.

“Moving on,” Will said. “If you were both in a zombie apocalypse describe the role you think each other would take?”

“Will, that question is ridiculous,” Hannibal groused, and took a sip of his cappuccino.

“Yeah, it is a bit dumb,” Will laughed, “but go on.”

“Well, clearly we wouldn’t be affected because we would be off in our secluded island where no one would reach us, and we would live a quiet happy zombie-free life.”

“Hmmm...if you say so. _I_ think you’d be the bad ass that would lead a resistance and I would be fighting right alongside you. And then the zombies would be pissed they have competition for,” Will leaned in and whispered, “...the people eating.” 

Hannibal chuckled, “Indeed!”

“Next, have you ever had to remove an object from their body? Or vice versa?”

Will and Hannibal stared at each other for a few moments, then both began to laugh. “Next question!” Hannibal said.

"Okay, fill-in-the-blank, 'Better late than..." Will said, and then took a sip of his water.

Hannibal responded immediately, "Stuck in prison for an eternity!”

Will did a spit take, and wiping his chin said, “Warn me when you’re going to say something that funny.”

“It wasn’t meant to be funny, William.”

Will grinned, “Fine, it wasn’t funny, but it absolutely was. Next question. What turns your partner on sexually?”

“About me?” Hannibal wagged his eyebrows, “What doesn’t?”

Will rolled his eyes, “Jesus...”

“To answer your question, you love it when I say dirty things to you -- the filthier the better in your opinion. You love it when I do that one thing with my tongue in your most favorite, sensitive spot,” Hannibal said into Will’s ear while Will shivered slightly and blushed, “and you love it when I give in to your sexual whims.” Will buried his head into the crook of Hannibal’s neck.

Will looked up and said, “Well, you love it when I climb on top of you and begin kissing you, and when I lick that spot on your neck.” Will delicately swiped the space just about Hannibal’s carotid artery with his finger and said, “Right there. Right? There.”

Hannibal hummed in approval as Will continued, voice growing lower, “And you love it when I whisper how incredibly hot I think you are as we are fucking.”

“Well, I am quite hot,” Hannibal said with a smug look on his face.

“Get out,” Will laughed as he playfully shoved Hannibal.

Hannibal then took the magazine and said, “Now it is my turn to ask the questions.” He was about to grab his reading glasses but paused and refrained, instead holding the magazine further away to read.

“Do you consider yourselves emotionally close without subscribing to arbitrary indications of togetherness?”

Will shot Hannibal a confused look, “Hold on. Are you kidding me? How the hell did I get all the goofy questions and your first question is that one?”

“I didn’t write this quiz, Will. I am just reading it. Answer, please,” Hannibal said.

“I would have to say yes. Even in the very early stages of our relationship -- before I even knew there was any relationship to speak of -- there was this strange unconventional closeness between us. It was like nothing I had ever experienced,” Will said looking somewhat deep in thought.

Hannibal stroked Will’s leg gently and asked, “And now?”

“I think now we’re still close -- as close as two people can be -- and we show it in all sort of ways. Don’t you think?”

“I do. Often I feel as though we can communicate completely without even uttering a single word. It’s magnificent.”

Will smiled and then Hannibal continued, “If your house was on fire and you had a chance to grab only five things before leaving, they would be…”

“We’re talking about you here, right? I feel like we’ve been all over the place with this quiz. I think it would have to be your suit of armor, your good knife, that crazy bottle of Cheval Blanc you have that we’ll never drink, your drawings, and your vintage copy of Larousse Gastronomique. How’s that?”

Hannibal sniffed, “Frankly, I am offended that you think my first instinct wouldn’t be to make sure you and Encephalitis were safe. The other items are immaterial.”

“Thanks, love,” Will said as he leaned in to give Hannibal a peck on the cheek.

“But, if you two are within safe confines, then yes, perhaps I would go back for the wine, the armor and my Larousse. It is a very old copy.”

“Yes, we can’t forget the Larousse,” Will said. “Can we at least drink the wine while we’re standing there watching our house burn down?”

“Perhaps,” Hannibal replied. “And we’ve made it to the last question: if your relationship doesn’t work out, do you think you can remain friends? If no, why not?”

There was an awkward silence that suddenly filled the space between them. Will chewed on his bottom lip, and Hannibal began rolling and unrolling the magazine. 

Will finally spoke, “We both know what that answer would be, don’t we? We know that...outcome.”

Hannibal said, “I supposed we do.”

The quiz was meant to be a lighthearted time waster, and now Will and Hannibal were both looking for a way out of this odd corner they had scooted themselves into. Relief came in the form of Dr. Mercier.

“Encephalitis is all done. She’s awake and ready.”

“How did she do?” Will asked.

“Fine. She’ll be quite groggy for a while, so just keep an eye on her. Marie will give you her instructions for after care. Come back when you are ready. She’ll be in room five.”

“Thank you, Dr. Mercier,” Hannibal said.

“She’s going to act like she’s drunk. It’ll be very cute,” Will said and began to rise from his chair. Hannibal grabbed him by the wrist.

“What?”

“Will, as I said before, I don’t need a magazine to tell us we know each other. I know you. I know all about you. I know the things that make you happy. Well, there’s dogs. Goodness, the dogs. There is fishing. Or when I bring you coffee in bed just as you are opening your eyes, when you are on the sofa in our study and I cover your feet with that soft lavender blanket before you even ask, when I kiss your toes, when I come home and kiss you on your jaw and whisper ‘ _skanus_ ’... those are just a few things,” Hannibal replied.

Will smiled, “Good. Very good. I love when you do that cool potato thing where you flip it in the air and catch it on the knife. I love when you are extra sweet to Encephalitis, when you wear your reading glasses -- even if you’d like to think you don’t need them. I love that you stir your coffee counter-clockwise, and that you fold the end of a new roll of toilet paper into a V. I love the enormous satisfaction you feel when you've whipped an egg white into submission and flip the bowl over with a huge dorky smile. I know that you adore the smell of an old book more than a new one, and that you tie your laces in a double knot. I know all about you too, Doctor. And really that last idiotic question is a mute point because we’ll never part. So there. We’re stuck with each other.”

Hannibal smiled and gripped Will’s wrist even tighter. 

“All right. Now let’s go get our baby,” Will said.

Hannibal gladly followed.

**Author's Note:**

> Skanus = delicious
> 
> Come say hi and visit me [on Tumblr](http://wrathofthestag.tumblr.com/).


End file.
